This week’s parsha offers a priceless lesson about Jewish leadership. You just won’t find it in the actual text of the Torah.
The Talmud presents a disagreement between R. Meir and R. Yehudah as to what exactly happened when the Jews reached the Reed Sea/Yam Suf (Gemara Sota 37a) R. Meir believes that each tribe wanted to be the first to jump in, whereas R. Yehudah asserts that none of the tribes wanted to be first. According to the latter opinion, it was Nachshon ben Aminadav, the leader of the tribe of Yehudah, who was the first to go in and show the rest of the Jewish people what needed to be done.
What is most significant about Nachshon is his willingness to be the only one, out of hundreds of thousands of people all standing at the same location and in the same situation, to pursue this course of action. The social pressure against doing his act must have been tremendous. It is the very public nature of his act that made it so courageous – and, even more important, so effective.
Leading by example must be calculatedly visible, not only regarding where it is done, but, even more important, when and how. Doing something novel in private is not an act of leadership; since it is not known, others cannot see it or repeat it.
The Torah tells us little about Nachshon. However, it does inform us that he was the leader of his tribe and the brother-in-law of Aharon, which gives us more than enough grounds to assume that he was someone of outstanding moral character. We can deduce from here that a second critical component of leading by example is cultivating a character that will inspire imitation.
If we are trying to accomplish change, we must be prepared to put ourselves on the line and attach our good reputation – which we have worked so hard to develop – to the change that we are trying to promote. Of what purpose is a good reputation if it is not used for the general good? Likewise, if someone writes a letter or article meant to change the status quo, he completely undermines his own efforts by signing it “Anonymous.” A person’s example will only be followed if people can say that “If so-and-so is doing it, it may be worth emulating.”
We learn from this passage in the Gemara that some of our best Jewish leaders were people who first devoted considerable effort to acting decently and honorably. And, when the time was right, they were willing to risk their reputation, in a very public way, for a vital cause.
{Adapted by Harry Glazer from Rabbi Francis Nataf’s essay, “Follow the Leader – the Legacy of Nachshon ben Aminadav posted on www.francisnataf.com}
16 Teves 5775
January 7, 2015